We Did It!

Wow. It’s been 3 weeks since the end of Burning Man! A million hugs, kisses and thank yous! We are so appreciative for the overwhelming support we received throughout this campaign, our previous campaign, on the playa, and in the default world.

My apologies for not writing this update sooner. We’ve been going at it hard every day since returning with cleaning, organizing, and storing our dusty gear for next year, but I’m glad I waited this long because I actually woke up to a fond Facebook memory. A year ago today was when I decided to embark on this epic journey of bringing Filipino culture to Burning Man starting with an art car… Check out this post!

Because of your support our project great success! We achieved all our goals! We brought a Filipino theme camp to Burning Man and gave hundreds of people an authentic and unique Filipino experience.

We served 150 people Yana’s Salo Dinner. Gingee performed on major stages all over the playa including a coveted set on Saturday’s Burn night while the man was on FIRE!! Our art car was approved for both day and night use by the Department of Mutant Vehicles – no easy feat!

Of course, during the week we encountered challenges. Building the car on the playa during Burning Man proved to be the toughest part. Many lessons learned and we will strive to make IT’S MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES theme camp better and better every year.

We are extremely excited that so many Filipinos (first-timers and veterans alike) came by our camp to say hello, hung out and helped out with our dinners. We are proud to be a beacon to bring our community of Filipino Burners together!

The most rewarding part by far was how people would show up each and every day and tell us how they heard about our camp. Some saw our interview with Cher Calvin on The Filipino Channel, some through our Facebook or Indiegogo page, and A LOT of people found us in the event guide and showed up HOURS before dinner to reserve a seat. We were sold out for each seating at least 4 hours early. We even had a greeter at the gates who knew about us and told every Filipino they could as they entered Black Rock City! It never got old to hear a stranger roll in and say “IS THIS THE FILIPINO CAMP???” Each person had an amazing story to tell either about the Philippines or Burning Man or a mix of both. Never have I felt I had so much in common than these wonderful people who came and shared a bit of themselves as we shared our camp with them as our gift. These were all proud moments for me and our crew. I’m so honored to have created a real community!

The Jeepney Eagle Art Car crew will be devoting the next year to bringing our unique and participatory take on Filipino culture, BEYOND BURNING MAN. We’ll be reppin’ at music and cultural festivals. One is actually just around the corner in Los Angeles at the Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture on October 8th!

We also have plans to visit the Philippines to connect with indigenous groups and hold interactive art workshops with the youth! Our intent is to inspire Filipinos by spreading the message through the Ten Principles of Burning Man!